Game 35 - No. 3 Seed BYU to Face Wofford

Cougars vs. Wofford in NCAA Second Round on Thursday

Ranked No. 10/12 in the nation, BYU will head to Denver as the No. 3 seed in the Southeast Region of the 2011 NCAA Tournament and take on No. 14 seed Wofford in the second round on Thursday at 5:15 p.m. MT in the Pepsi Center. The Cougars, co-champions of the Mountain West Conference, are 30-4 overall and reached the championship game of the MWC Tournament where they fell to No. 6/5 San Diego State.

Jimmer Fredette, the MWC Player of the Year, was named the MWC Tournament MVP where he averaged a tournament-record 35.3 points. He set BYU and MWC records with a 52-point performance against New Mexico in the semifinals. Fredette currently leads the nation in scoring at 28.5 points per game and has been named to several All-America teams, including USBWA, CBSSports.com, SI.com, Yahoo! Sports and FoxSports.com. Jackson Emery was the MWC Defensive Player of the Year and averages 12.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.8 steals for the Cougars. He has a BYU-record 94 steals this season and is the program’s career leader in steals with 242.

Wofford is led by 6-foot-6 senior forward Noah Dahlman, who averages a team-leading 20.0 points per game. Dahlman shoots .612 from the field and .764 from the free throw line and adds 5.5 boards per game. Cameron Rundles, a 6-foot-1 senior guard, adds 14.0 points per game and leads the team with 74 threes while shooting .413 from long range. Jamar Diggs adds 12.5 points and 3.2 assists while Tim Johnson leads the team in rebounding at 8.4 per game. Thursday’s game can be heard live on KSL Newsradio beginning with the pregame show at 4:15 p.m. MT on 102.7 FM and 1160 AM out of Salt Lake City. The game will be televised live on CBS with Verne Lundquist and Bill Raftery on the call and Lesley Visser reporting from the sidelines.

Up Next

The winner of No. 3 BYU vs. No. 14 Wofford will advance to the third round of the NCAA Tournament and play the winner of No. 6 St. John’s vs. No. 11 Gonzaga on Saturday in the Pepsi Center. Game time is TBA.

Cougar Quick Hits

— No. 10/12 BYU head coach and MWC Co-Coach of the Year Dave Rose is 157-44 in his six seasons at BYU and is the program’s all-time leader in winning percentage at .781. He is second all-time in wins behind Stan Watts, a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame. Rose has been named MWC Coach of the Year a league record three times and has won four regular season titles, also a conference record. Rose was also named the USBWA District VIII Coach of the Year.

— MWC Player of the Year Jimmer Fredette leads the nation in scoring at 28.5 points per game and adds 4.2 assists and 1.4 steals per game. Fredette also earned All-MWC First Team honors, has been named National Player of the Year by CBSSports.com and SI.com and has been named an All-American by USBWA and several other publications.

— MWC Defensive Player of the Year Jackson Emery leads the MWC in steals at 2.8 per game and adds 12.6 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game. Emery was named second-team All-MWC and to the All-Defensive Team and earned All-District honors from the USBWA and the NABC.

— Noah Hartsock adds 8.5 points per game on .489 shooting from the field and .400 shooting from three. Charles Abouo adds 7.2 points and 4.9 rebounds per game.

— Brandon Davies received All-MWC Third Team honors and Hartsock was named honorable mention.

— At 30-4, BYU has the best 34-game record in program history and is tied for the most wins in school history (2010-11).

Southeast Regional Bracket in Denver - Pepsi Center

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Second Round Game 1 - 5:15 p.m. MT

No. 3 BYU (30-4) vs. No. 14 Wofford (21-12)

Second Round Game 2 - 30 minutes following Game 1

No. 6 St. John’s (21-11) vs. No. 11 Gonzaga (24-9)

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Third Round - TBA

Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner

BYU Game #35 Fast Facts

No. 3 BYU (30-4) vs. No. 14 Wofford (21-12)

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Pepsi Center (19,155)

Denver

5:15 p.m. MT

Coaches

BYU, Dave Rose (157-44 in sixth season at BYU; same overall)

Wofford, Mike Young (137-137 in ninth season at Wofford; same overall)

Series

BYU leads 1-0 vs. Wofford with the Cougars winning 73-67 in 1998 in Provo

Radio

KSL Newsradio (102.7 FM/1160 AM) and the Cougar Sports Network

(Greg Wrubell, play-by-play; Mark Durrant, game analysis)

TV

CBS (Verne Lundquist, play-by-play; Bill Raftery, game analysis; Lesley Visser, sideline)

Web

Live stats links are available on the men’s basketball schedule page at www.byucougars.com/basketball_m/

CLICK HERE to see where Jimmer Fredette and Jackson Emery rank in the BYU and Mountain West Conference record books.